Carlsbad Village in California

On October 30, 2018 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn California8 Comments

If you are looking for a relaxing stay along the Pacific coast in California, then visiting Carlsbad might just be the perfect choice for you. Located about 30 miles north of San
Diego, Carlsbad is a resort town with many restaurants, public beaches, and a very walkable downtown area which is called Carlsbad Village. We spent close to a week there and enjoyed walking the beach, watching sunsets, and even went on a wine tasting tour. On Wednesday’s, the heart of the village shuts down to allow for a farmer’s market with a variety of fresh fruit, vegetables, art work, and other local items for sale. We also happened to be there the weekend before Halloween and the local shops provide candy and a safe environment for families to go trick-or-treating.

Carlsbad Village is certainly charming with a variety of architecture from typical beach-style buildings to some old-world type buildings. There are many different shops offering boutique clothing, beach clothes, gift items, as well as unique artwork. There are as many restaurants as there are shops offering a variety of meal choices. Although you can certainly find any type of food that you might want, the majority of restaurants offered seafood, Mexican food, and Italian. We had some wonderful meals during our stay.

Clearly the beach is the highlight of going to Carlsbad and if you are a surfer, you won’t be disappointed. It was a little too cool while we were there to swim in the ocean as the fog rolled in every morning and didn’t always burn completely off keeping the temperatures low. That didn’t keep us from walking along the beach though, watching the surfers, and making sure to catch some beautiful sunsets. Even in the off-season, the town got quite busy on the weekend as people from the surrounding areas come to take advantage of their beach properties.

We took a wine tour in Temecula where we visited four different wineries and tasted a wonderful variety of wines. Napa Valley certainly has the best known reputation for producing quality wines, but Temecula certainly has a right to be proud of their growing reputation. Not only do they have a lot of vineyards currently, the hillsides are being covered with new ones as the city has approved additional vineyards to be started. Although you can certainly drive yourself on a wine tour, it is best to let someone else do the driving. We tasted up to six types of wine at each vineyard, which even in small amounts is a lot of wine.

Carlsbad Village is definitely an enjoyable destination with a relaxing atmosphere. Beautiful beaches, friendly people, and all of the food and shopping make staying their a wonderful experience. There is also a train called the Coaster that will take you into San Diego if you want to spend some time their and go to Sea World, the world famous zoo, and other museums. Legoland is also a highlight of Carlsbad for those with children or just a child at heart.

Driving on the Wine Road Outside of Strasbourg

On October 2, 2018 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn France4 Comments

We truly enjoyed our time in Strasbourg and, even though it was after the vineyards had been harvested, we also enjoyed driving on part of the wine road. There is something beautiful about seeing all of the vines lined up in rows, but perhaps that is just because of the thought of the wines that they produce. Although there are certain regions that are synonymous with growing the grapes that produce excellent wines, these days you can find vineyards almost anyplace and they are definitely worth visiting. When you meet the people who run these vineyards, you appreciate the passion that they have for the grapes that they grow and wines that they produce. Alsace is definitely proud of the wines produced in the region and we tasted several wonderful varieties. Doing a full tour of the entire wine road is definitely something that we hope to do some day in the future.

Reaping What You Sow

On April 14, 2017 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn Germany, Photo Challenge9 Comments

Some of you may have noticed that we have been a little quiet this week. We moved into our new place in Colorado Springs this past weekend, so we have been busy unpacking boxes and making it feel like home. It has been quite time consuming, especially with work, but we are almost at a point where we feel a sense of normalcy. For this week’s Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge, Harvest – Earth, we chose photos that represent harvesting earth’s bounties, but are also counting our own blessings as to being home surrounded by our own furniture once again. The first photo is of a church with a wine vineyard in the small town of Hochheim, Germany.

We saw a lot of humble farmers during our trip to Bolivia. Despite not having any modern equipment, they are still able to produce an abundance of crops.